Dr Z Offers Therapy

New 6L6-based amp with a flavor of a low powered tweed Twin 01-Jul-14

Dr Z Amps says that the Therapy is a departure from what they have done in the past. Here's the lowdown in their own words...

We started with a clean sheet of paper and a fresh sonic perspective. The result is a cathode biased 6L6 based amp with a flavor of a low powered tweed Twin. It has a range of tones that will appeal to a wide audience and it includes a special design post phase inverter master volume which does not lose top-end definition at bedroom settings. Its output is a cool 35 watts with a tube rectified power supply.

Under the hood you'll find the highest quality components throughout. Special attention was used to select the coupling caps. We chose Jupiter hi end hand rolled coupling caps for the banana yellow Astron tone found in early Fender tweed amps. A high precision PEC sealed volume pot is used for unmatched sensitivity, control, and long life. The large output transformer gives more thrust than you can get from a 20 watt amp.

The Therapy has a woody bass response that fills out nicely. Think tweed-like clean with a modern clarity. We incorporated our unique 2 preamp tube front end that we have mastered in designs from our past. The more American-type overdrive sounds hint at Dumble territory. Because the Therapy doesn't use a cascaded front end you get great clarity from pedals even at the highest drive settings. This simple design coupled with special EQ wiring maximizes gain, touch dynamics, and guarantees stable frequency response across the dial.

The PPIMV helps keep the sound level in check whether you are in church or in an arena. In this circuit the master is very effective with better results than you would get from many attenuators. All in all the Therapy is a great choice for a modern spin on a 6L6 design. It has great cleans for the roots players and plenty of drive for the rockers.